It's a Max Phoebe Thing
by notathingintheworld
Summary: Phoebe follows Max as he breaks into a research lab. Things take an unexpected twist and the twins wake up in each other's body. They must work together to figure out how to reverse the effect without raising suspicion. Will they work it out and get to understand each other a little better, or will the ordeal push them farther apart than ever? Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter One

**It's a Max Phoebe Thing**

* * *

Summary: Phoebe follows Max as he breaks into a research lab. Things take an unexpected twist and the twins wake up in each other's body. They must work together to figure out how to reverse the effect without raising suspicion. Will they work it out and get to understand each other a little better, or will the ordeal push them farther apart than ever?

* * *

 _Author's Note: This is an idea I had for a while since I feel like it would fit well with the show. It's hopefully going to stay true to the show, but make it a bit more mature. The title of this story is a reference to a movie called It's a Boy Girl Thing. I hope you like it. :)_

* * *

Chapter One

Up until that point, most of Max's 'misdeeds' had been virtually harmless. Breaking into the school to set up pranks, minor vandalism, petty theft. Truly, the worst he had done was breaking into the water treatment facility, but he had managed to mess that up for himself. But, that night, it seemed he had decided to take it up a notch. Phoebe watched through binoculars as he broke into the Hiddenville Scientific Research Facility. She didn't know a lot about it, but she _did_ know that a lot of technological research and development went on there. If anyone but Phoebe were to catch him there, he would be in massive trouble.

Not that she thought anyone was going to catch Max. As much as she hated to admit it, he was good at what he did. She may not believe he was really a super villain, deep down, but he knew his way around criminal activity. He was as good at pulling of heists as she was stopping them. In a strange way, they made a good team in that regard.

"Okay," she muttered to herself, shaking out her muscles. She wasn't about to sit back and let Max run amok in a research lab. Who knew what top secret experiments could be in there? As soon as she was sure she could follow him without being noticed, she made for the building, the same way he went in. Little did he know, she had taken to hiding tracking devices in his shoes so she could keep track of him to make sure he didn't... well, go and do something like this.

The air ducts were dusty, and the dust had been stirred up as Max crawled through. If she coughed, Max would hear her for sure. She pulled her cape around to put over her mouth and nose. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was enough. Before too long, the dot that represented Max came to a stop. Moving as quietly as she could, she drew near. A vent cover dangled into the room below and she peered down.

Max was right below her, rubbing his gloved hands together, nodding. He was wearing a ski mask, as cliche as it was, but she didn't need to see his face to know the smirk that was there. "Alright, where do I start?"

"How about you start in your room?" she said, dropping down on him. He let out a shrill scream as her weight drug him to the floor. "'Cause that's where you're going to be when mom and dad _ground_ you." She stood up, looking down sternly at him, hands on her hips.

He pushed himself up, half sitting, half crouching, and let out a frustrated hiss. "How did you find me here?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "You're a 'super villain,'" she said, making air quotes around the word super villain. "Do you really think I'm going to let you run around the city without some way to find you?"

"Where is the trust?" he asked in a mock hurt voice, placing a hand over his heart.

"I don't know. Did you check the garbage, 'cause I think that's where you put it."

Max was about to say something snappy in return, no doubt, when they heard it. Her head snapped up. The door across the room creaked open. A mouse-y looking man stumbled in, no doubt alerted by the sound of Max's girly scream. He was wearing a security guard outfit, and shined a dim flashlight in her face. She glanced down at Max.

The guard couldn't see him; he was crouched down behind a large desk. Slowly, he peeked over the edge, shrinking back down immediately. There was panic in his eyes as he looked back up at his sister. 'Get rid of him,' he mouthed. Phoebe swallowed.

"W-w-who are you?" the guard demanded. His voice was weak, and the beam of light shook visibly.

Phoebe pulled on her brave face. "Ah, hello, citizen," she said in her best superhero voice. She placed her hands on her hips, making sure her cape fluttered a bit to get the full effect. "I am the Hero League's appointed protector of Hiddenville. I am here to investigate a suspected break-in. Your cooperation would be much appreciated."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max facepalm, shaking his head. Phoebe discretely stamped on the hand he held himself up with. There was a deep sense of satisfaction watching him clutch his fingers in pain, desperately trying not to cry out.

The guard stepped a bit closer, light still solidly in her eyes. "Is that so?" he asked. He was no longer trembling. The closer he stepped, the harder it got to see. "I see. Well, in that case..."

Suddenly, a white beam of energy struck Phoebe dead in the chest. It didn't _hurt_ per se, but her body felt like it was being dunked in ice water. Her head felt fuzzy, and her vision started to blur. Max watched with wide eyes, not sure what to do.

"You can tell the Hero League to stay out of my business. If this... _thing_ doesn't kill you, anyway." The man shrugged, examining the device in his hand. "I really don't know what it does." With that, he turned his back.

Max bolted to his feet, ready to call out to the man, or freeze him, or something, but didn't get the chance. Phoebe wobbled on her feet, ready to fall. Max grabbed her, pulling her arm around his neck and holding her up by the waist. She was essentially dead weight.

As soon as he touched her, it was like an electric current ran through his body. His head felt cloudy, but he stayed upright. When he looked up, the 'guard' was gone. He sighed. "Come on, Pheebs," he said, pulling her along with him. "Let's get out of here."


	2. Chapter Two

**It's a Max Phoebe Thing**

* * *

Chapter Two

It was exceedingly late when Max finally got Phoebe home. Phoebe had passed out nearly the second he got her into the Thundervan, which worried him. What if that ray thing _could_ kill her? As they drove home, he had the van scan her, and it turned up nothing out of the ordinary. At any rate, she wasn't at risk of dying. Maybe it was just a ray of confusion, or a sleep ray. Come morning, she would probably be perfectly fine.

There were no lights on in the house, which made sense since he snuck out, and Phoebe had to keep odd hours as Hiddenville's designated superhero. So, he got her up to her room no problem. It was when he was _just_ about to slide down into bed that his mother's voice greeted him from the top of the stairs. "Max Thunderman," she called in her angry voice, "do you have _any_ idea what time it is?"

And he was _so_ tempted to tell her it was, in fact, time for her to get a watch. One look at her face, however, convinced him that was _not_ a good idea in the slightest. He glanced down at his own watch. "Almost three," he said, casually trying to stuff his ski mask further into his pocket.

"And just what do you think you are doing up this late, dressed like that?" He glanced down at his black attire. He was still wearing gloves.

"I... Well, funny story. You see... Wow, did you get your hair cut? It looks fantastic." Her glare did not let up. Apparently, it was too early in the morning for flattery to work.

"You know your curfew is ten-thirty."

"I know." Translation: And that's dumb.

"Anything could have happened to you!"

"I know." Translation: You mean, _I_ could have done anything.

"I am very disappointed in you, Max."

"I know." Translation: Sure you are. "So, how long am I grounded?"

She sighed. There was nothing quite like the face she made when she _knew_ grounding him was useless, but it was the only way she could think to punish him. "Two weeks."

"Okay." And he slid down into his lair without another word. The realization of just how tired he was started to hit him.

"So, how did it go?" He heard Colosso ask, voice thick with sleep.

Max grunted. "I'll tell you when I wake up." He undressed quickly, pulling on a pair of ratty sweat pants and a gray t-shirt before flopping down on his bed. As soon as his eyes slid shut, he was out.

~OoO~

It was a long, restless night full of disorienting dreams, disconnected snippets of memories flashing at warp speed.

~OoO~

Max woke just as tired as he fell asleep. He didn't open his eyes for a long moment after consciousness returned to him. As he pulled in a breath, the scent of something sweet caught his attention. Sometimes, when his mom made breakfast, the smell would waft down into his lair. This was not that. It was something more... perfume-y. Like the stuff that Phoebe wore that he would never admit he actually liked the smell of. What was Phoebe doing in his lair?

"Go away, Phoebe," he groaned, cracking an eye open. He didn't see her standing over him, but he also didn't see his lair. He bolted upright, rubbing his eyes. Something fell on his face and he couldn't shake it off.

Why was he in Phoebe's room? He remembered going down to his lair. He even got busted right before! Confused, he ran a hand through his hair. Rather than pulling his fingers through his swoosh, they got tangled. Suddenly, the thing that had fallen in his face made sense. It was hair. Long, dark hair. Phoebe hair!

Max was freaking out. He didn't even want to look down at himself. Instead, he ran over to Phoebe's mirror, praying he wouldn't see what he knew he was going to see. The reflection staring back at Max was Phoebe, dressed in pajama pants and a tank top.

Horrified, he bolted out of the room. "Don't run on the stairs, sweetie," his mother called, looking up from the stove top. "Do you want pancakes?" He couldn't answer. He didn't know what would come out of his... Phoebe's mouth if he did. Instead, he ran for his lair, ignoring his mother's confused 'do I even want to know' face.

"Phoebe!" he cried, hurtling down the stairs to his lair. "Phoebe, wake up!" He barely noticed the fact that his words did, in fact, come out in Phoebe's voice.

"Oh, look," Colosso mumbled. "She's finally lost it." Max ignored the rabbit, running toward his bed. It was just as he had feared. His body was laying fast asleep in his bed.

He shook his body by the shoulder. "Hey, Pheebs, _wake up_!" His body jerked away with a groan.

"Let me sleep, Mom."

"I'm not Mom," he said. "I'm Max." She didn't respond. Frustrated, he pulled the pillow out from under her head and whacked her in the face with it. She heaved herself up, glaring. "Go awaaaaaaaaay..." Her eyes grew wide as she spoke when she realized where she was and who she was talking to. Her mouth was an 'O' as she looked down at herself, horror spreading over her face.

Max counted in his head. _Three, two, one..._ She screamed. "What... what? What did you _do_?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "I didn't do this! Last thing I remember, I fell asleep in my bed. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in yours and I look like _this_!"

"How did this happen?"

"Do you remember what happened last night?" She thought for a moment, biting her - his? - lip, and nodded. "I think that ray thing the guy shot you with might have caused this."

"Would one of you _please_ tell me what on Earth you are blabbering on about?" Colosso interjected. Max stood again, walking over to the bunny.

"Look, I'm Max." He pointed over to his body, still wearing a mask of shock on his bed. "That is Phoebe. She followed me to the research facility last night and there was this guy dressed up as a security guard. She was trying to get rid of him, but he wasn't a real guard, and he shot her with some beam thing. She got dizzy, and when I grabbed her to keep her on her feet, I felt, like, this electric charge, but we both seemed okay and went to bed, but when we woke up, we were, well, like this."

"And why should I believe that?" The twins shared a glance.

"Because that's what happened?" Phoebe said, finally getting off the bed. She stumbled a bit, perhaps a bit off balance by Max's body's extra weight. He held out a hand to help support her.

Colosso looked between the two before settling his gaze on Max, er, rather Max in Phoebe's body. "Alright, if you're really Max, tell me something only the really _real_ Max would know." Max thought for a moment before leaning in and whispering something in Colosso's oversized bunny ear. He nodded for a moment, seemingly convinced, then started laughing hysterically.

Phoebe crossed her arms, popping out her hip a bit. The action did _not_ suit Max's body all that well. "Can you help us or not?" she asked.

"Hmm. Maybe." They waited while he thought. "Why don't you two go up and get breakfast or something, and I'll see what I can think of."

The twins shared another glance. The last thing they wanted was to stay like that any longer, but it wasn't as though Colosso could just magically unswitch their bodies. They started for the stairs.

"Look," Max said, stopping Phoebe as they got to the stairs. "Unless we act like each other, Mom and Dad are going to notice something is up, and you suck at lying."

"I do not..." His gaze shut her up. "It's not like this is something you did - for once. Maybe we should tell them."

"And let them know I was breaking into a research lab? It's not exactly as harmless as the school. If they knew that, I'd be grounded for more than two weeks! Speaking of, you're grounded until Colosso can switch us back. Or for two weeks. Whichever comes first." Phoebe rolled her eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Max."

"When do you ever?" He shook his head. "Please, just wait until we talk to Colosso after breakfast, at _least_. Please?"

Phoebe sighed. "Fine."

"Oh and remember, I'm Phoebe and you're Max," he said.

"I know that," she snapped. And they walked slowly up the stairs, both dreading trying to be the other in front of their family. There was so much room for error. Any slight slip up would make them suspicious. They might not be able to figure out exactly what's going on, but they would be suspicious none-the-less. And that was never a good thing for the twins.


	3. Chapter Three

**It's a Max Phoebe Thing**

* * *

 _Author's Note: I'm sorry if this gets a little confusing. I'm writing under the assumption that everyone is actively thinking about the fact that their bodies are switched, so when I say "Phoebe did this" you all realize I mean Phoebe, who is in Max's body, did this. Though, there are a few times where the narration will draw attention to the fact that they are looking at their own body, and I feel like that is where it starts getting more confusing. If it becomes unclear who is doing what, let me know. In my head, I naturally know exactly what is going on, and the way I write it makes sense to me. I hope it makes sense for everyone else, too, but I get how following a body-swap story could actually be really tough. TV and movies are clearly a more effective medium for the device, but I personally think I'm doing an adequate job keeping things straight. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think. :)_

* * *

Chapter Three

Phoebe's hands were trembling as she took her seat, making sure to sit in Max's usual spot at the end of the table and leaning back in the chair. "Good morning," their mother said, dropping a kiss on both of their heads as she laid plates of pancakes in front of them. "Was something the matter, Phoebe? You ran down here in a hurry."

Phoebe barely managed to stop herself from saying something. _She's not talking to me,_ she thought, _she's talking to Max_. It was starting to dawn on her just how difficult it could be to keep their secret. She and Max are just so different.

"Uh, no not really," Max said, mouth full. Phoebe never spoke with her mouth full! Phoebe kicked him under the table. He seemed to recognize his mistake as he swallowed down the food quickly. "I just thought I left a notebook down in maaah... Max's lair, and I need the notes in it to study for a quiz on Monday."

"Oh," their mom said, fully convinced. "Did you find it, then?"

"No," he admitted. "I must have left it in my locker. I'll get the notes from Cherry later."

Breakfast continued in silence. That was good. If no one was talking, there was no way they would notice Max and Phoebe weren't acting quite themselves. Unfortunately, that silence wouldn't last forever. "So, Max," their dad said, voice taking a stern edge. "Are you going to tell us what you were doing out so late?"

Phoebe's eyes went wide and she shot a glance over at Max. His lips were pursed, and he was staring down at his plate. He couldn't exactly lie because he was currently Phoebe. And, like anything else, Phoebe had to begrudgingly admit that Max was right about her lack of lying ability. The rest of the family was staring at her, waiting for an answer. "Noooo?" she tried.

Max clearly wished he could say something, _anything_. "That's not an answer, mister," their mom warned, eyes taking on their dangerous glint. How did Max do this all the time? Coming up with plausible, convincing lies on the fly was hard. Or, maybe, he had stockpiled and memorized a list of lies he could tell depending on the situation, so he wouldn't have to worry about coming up with something when Mom and Dad put the heat on him. Either way, Phoebe really hated being Max.

She opened her mouth, ready to just come clean and tell them what had really happened to _both_ of them. One look at Max, though, made her waiver. He glanced up at her under her own thick eye lashes, worrying his bottom lip. He knew she was about to blab, but he, for some reason, wasn't trying to stop her. For some reason, that tugged at something inside of her. Maybe it was just the fact that her own face was pouting at her, or maybe it was Max's plea not to get him in infinitely more trouble, but whatever it was, it worked.

"Okay, fine," she sighed, dropping her fork on the plate with a light clatter and holding her hands up in mock defeat. Max had already been caught and grounded. It wasn't like telling them 'why' would hurt any more. "The guys and I wanted to catch a movie."

"And asking didn't cross your mind?" Dad asked, raising his eyebrows. "It's a weekend, we probably would have said yes. Come on, Max. Do you think I'm stupid?" Max bit his lip a bit harder, this time probably trying not say something.

 _Dang it!_ The lie had seemed much more convincing in her head. _Okay, Phoebe,_ she thought, trying to calm down. _Just think. Think... Think..._ "Well," she said slowly, "not exactly. See, it was an R-rated movie, sooo..." She shrugged.

Surprisingly, Max let out a silent sigh of relief. Being grounded for two weeks was a realistic punishment for sneaking into an R-rated movie past curfew, so it wasn't like she just got Max in even more trouble. Max caught her eye once more. There was a small smile there as he mouthed the words, 'thank you.' She simply nodded in return.

Phoebe stopped listening to whatever her parents were saying after that. Something about responsibility and trust, maybe? She didn't care. She ate slowly. How had things ended up this way? At the moment, her life felt a lot like one of those Saturday morning cartoons she and Max used to watch when they were kids. The quirky cast of character somehow found itself in yet another wacky situation, this time their bodies switched. Chaos and craziness ensues as they try to switch back while keeping a low profile. Is that what would happen?

Or was it permanent? Were they stuck like that forever? Surely that wouldn't be the case. Max and Colosso would be able to figure out something, some convenient solution that would sort everything out, leaving their parents none the wiser, just like in the cartoons. Doubt filled her though. She didn't want to be Max forever, and she was positive Max would absolutely loath the idea of being her forever.

The whole situation was frustrating. She felt awkward in Max's body. It was like laying in bed and not being able to get comfortable, or wearing someone else clothes and they didn't fit quite right. Max was taller than she was, even if just by a little, and heavier too. She felt unbalanced.

She couldn't even imagine how weird it must have been for Max to be in her body. He looked positively miserable, shifting his weight constantly. And Phoebe wasn't the only one who noticed, it seemed.

"Phoebe, sweetie," Mom said, eyes now full of motherly concern, "are you alright?"

Max tried a lighthearted smile, but it was a bit too tense. "Yeah, of course," he lied. "I think I just slept a little weird, is all."

~OoO~

All in all, breakfast could not have ended soon enough. Billy and Nora ran to play outside, and their parents left to do whatever it was they did on Saturday mornings. "We should get back down to the lair," Max said under his breath as they took their dishes to the sink. "I'll meet you down there in a minute." She nodded and turned away. "Oh, don't forget to take the slide!" he hissed.

She did. Colosso was waiting when she got down there. "How was breakfast?"

"Agonizing and slow," she said, plopping down on the edge of Max's bed. "Max should be down in a minute. I really hope you've thought of something."


	4. Chapter Four

**It's a Max Phoebe Thing**

* * *

Chapter Four

Waiting for Max to come down the stairs seemed to be the longest moment in Phoebe's life. Her breakfast sat like a brick in her stomach as she paced in front of Colosso. He didn't seem too worried about the twins' situation, humming contentedly to himself. Or, maybe he was just trying to get under Phoebe's skin. And getting under her skin it was. Very few things made Phoebe want to crawl under her covers and cry, but this whole thing was really making it tempting.

Finally, she heard the quick thudding of footsteps coming down the stairs. Max was taking the steps two at a time. "What took you so long?" she demanded as he came to a stop in front of her. He looked a bit unsteady. It seemed she was right in thinking she wasn't the only one uncomfortable in the other's body.

He held up her cellphone. "I ran up to your room to grab this," he explained. "I thought you might want it."

She grabbed it. "Yeah, but don't you think Mom and Dad might notice if you suddenly start using my phone, you know, with it's flowery, pink case and all?" He rolled his eyes, grabbing his own phone from his desk and pulling it off the charger.

Wordlessly, he popped off the case and snatched hers back. "It's simple, dummy," he said. "We'll just switch the cases." He punctuated the word 'switch' with a light snap as he pressed Phoebe's case onto his phone. "And you're the smart one?" She didn't dignify that with a response, instead grabbing her phone out of his hand, now dressed in his black case.

"Whatever." She spun around, back to Colosso. "Okay, did you think of anything, fur ball?"

"Of course," he snapped, trying his hardest to look superior - something that must have been immensely difficult for a fluffy little bunny. "The good news..." He took a long pause, seemingly for dramatic effect. "There is no scenario where this switch is permanent, if that's what you've been worried about." Both twins heaved out a sigh of relief. It was like a weight that had been pressing down on Phoebe's chest had been, well, not removed, but lightened a bit. She finally felt like she could breathe.

"Then what's the bad news?" Max asked slowly. Colosso was silent for a long moment.

"Just tell us," Phoebe said, voice flat. "We going to need to know eventually."

"Alright. I was thinking of possible methods of switching the minds between two subjects-"

"And you couldn't think of any?" Phoebe asked, ice filling her veins.

"Quite the opposite," the rabbit corrected. "I thought of several, actually."

Max took a step forward, brow furrowed in confusion. "And that's a problem because...?"

"Because, it's likely not all of the methods are, let's say, compatible." Phoebe didn't quite understand what he was getting at. She glanced at Max, hoping maybe he did, but he seemed just as confused as she did.

"And that's a problem because...?" he repeated, motioning with his hands for Colosso to get on with it.

"It's a problem because, if my theory is correct, incompatible methods could have... negative effects on you if you were to try and undo the switch." That didn't make things any clearer to Phoebe.

She stepped up next to Max. "But you just said there was no chance it would be permanent. Why would it matter if you switched back a different way?"

"Hmm." Colosso thought for a moment, maybe trying how think how best to phrase it so they would understand. "You could say the human brain is similar to a computer in many ways. Think of memories like data on a hard drive. The difference is, the brain is vastly more complex, and isn't as easy to re-write as a computer is. See, your brains stayed in their heads. Your consciousnesses and memories were just re-written into the other's brain. While it is entirely possible to re-write it back, using an incompatible method could cause, let's say, re-write errors. Data getting left behind or erased entirely."

Understanding dawned on Max's face as Colosso spoke. "So switching back willy-nilly could be incredibly dangerous, potentially destroying our memories and consciousnesses."

"Exactly." Colosso nodded, falling silent once more for a short moment. "Your safest bet would be to recreate the same process as happened the first time."

"We don't know what that device was, though," Phoebe said. She was cold, goosebumps covering her arms. She did _not_ like all the talk of 'data loss.'

"Well, the way I see it," Max said, turning to face her, a glint in his eyes as his mind likely raced a mile a minute, "we have two options. We can find the jerk who did this, hoping he hasn't sold the damn thing or something; or we can break back into the research facility and try and get a hold of the device's specs, assuming either of us would be able to identify it well enough to find its information on their mainframe."

Phoebe's shoulders sagged. She walked back over to Max's bed, plopping down with a sigh before she spoke. "Either one of those things could take days, maybe weeks to do."

He sat down next to her, chewing the inside of his cheek. "Yeah," he said finally. "I know. But it's really all we can do."

"You two are really lucky you swapped with each other, though," Colosso chimed in, voice musing.

Phoebe tilted her head to the side. "How do you figure?"

"Your powers, dummy," he snapped, echoing Max from earlier. "And you're the smart one?" She crossed her arms, glaring. He didn't seem to worried, though, based on his low chuckle. "You two already have the same powers. You don't have to worry about them going out of control, because you both already have control over them. That extra lobe in your brain would cause a lot of problems for anyone who didn't already have one. I mean, could you imagine a _non-supe_ in this situation with you?"

The idea was terrifying. Not only would their secret be out, but a non-supe suddenly having powers with no control over them? Phoebe shuddered a little. She tried to push the thought from her mind. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well," Max said, standing again, pacing slowly as he thought, "we need to come up with a plan, but, like you said, anything we could do would take a lot of planning and time to get done. I say, we focus on making a plan tomorrow."

Phoebe was on her feet in a second, eyes wide. The way she looked down at Max... it was as if he suggested they started by kicking puppies. "Are you kidding? Don't you think it would be better if we started _sooner_ rather than _later_?"

"Yes," he agreed, "but we're in this for the long haul. It's going to take just as long, regardless. Let's take today to learn how to be each other." The thought hadn't occurred to her, though it was one of the most worrying things about the whole situation. "I mean, I have no idea how to be a girl. I'm sure you're no better about being a dude. Let alone each other specifically."

He was right. So they sat down across from each other on Max's bed. It was going to be a long day.


	5. Chapter Five

**It's a Max Phoebe Thing**

* * *

Chapter Five

While talking about the odds and ends of life as the opposite gender, the twins were forced to think about exactly what all that entailed. Max supposed it had been in the back of his mind the whole time, something he pushed away because it was really not fun to think about. But the reality had fully set in. Switching back would take time, and they were still living humans. They had to bathe and use the bathroom. This was beyond awkward. It was downright uncomfortable.

Phoebe didn't seem to like the idea any better. Several times, Max had to snap at his sister to stop biting his body's fingernails.

"I think we've covered all of that... stuff," he said, finally, ready to focus on something that _wasn't_ extremely creepy. "Um, what about school schedules?" He used telekinesis to get his backpack and started rummaging through it, eventually pulling out a binder and a pen. The binder was full of loose paper and he leafed through notes that seemed to be comprised of a bunch of different subjects before finally reaching a blank page.

Quickly, he scribbled down his schedule. When he finished, he ripped the sheet out - rather than opening the binder rings and taking it out nicely - and slid it into Phoebe's lap. She took the pen from him and began writing her own schedule down, writing neatly and numbering the classes one through eight, and taking the page out properly.

Max rolled his eyes as he snatched the paper from her and skimmed it. Half of their classes were the same, so it would be pretty easy to memorize. "Right," he muttered. That hadn't taken long, and he hadn't thought of anything else they needed to cover. "What next?"

"Um..." She thought, setting Max's schedule down next to her. "Oh! After-school stuff."

"Well, you're grounded, so that kinda takes care of that."

"Yeah. But you have ballet." Max's face must have been pretty funny because Phoebe chuckled to herself a bit when she looked up at him. "I'll send an email to the instructor saying you twisted your ankle badly, and can't dance until further notice."

"Right," he agreed. "And we can really sell it by bringing in a doctor's excuse."

Phoebe's brow furrowed in confusion. "Where are you going to get a doctor's excuse?" He smirked and used telekinesis once more, this time bringing a slip of paper from his desk over. He handed it to her. "Really Max? Phony doctor's notes? Do you know how much trouble you could get in if you get caught with a fake?"

"Have you even _met_ me?" he asked. Something about his biting tone was off when it came from Phoebe's voice. "I'm a _super villain_."

"Whatever you say."

"Ugh," he groaned, standing up. "I should have figured."

"What?" she asked, eyeing him carefully.

"You're never going to pull off being me," he told her, leaning against his desk. "But, I guess that's to be expected from a goody-goody like you."

She stood this time. The faces she made just didn't work right on Max's face; it was actually slightly cringe-worthy, he decided. "I bet I'm a better you than you are me."

He laughed. "Good one, Pheebs." She crossed her arms. "Oh, you were serious?"

"Yeah. I am. I'm certain I'll be better at being you than you will at being me." He stepped forward, looking her dead in the eye. There was something unsettling about looking in his own face - almost like looking at a reflection brought to life.

"Please," he scoffed. "Anyone can be a do-gooder dork like you. It takes actual _talent_ to be an evil genius like me." He waited and... there it was. The ever-so-slight glint of hurt in her eyes. Of course, he knew it wasn't something that would _really_ hurt her. Fifteen years of being together taught Max exactly how far he could push her before an unspoken line was crossed. Granted, he did tend to cross that line a lot, but he at least had the decency to feel bad about it and try and make it up to her, in the end.

"Oh, yeah, pulling little school pranks and sitting in your lair all day with your pet bunny rabbit. _Real_ difficult." The expression he gave her was withering.

He took another step closer, leaving just a couple inches between them (what personal space?). "What do you say we make this interesting?"

"I'm listening."

"Loser does the winners chores for two weeks."

She thought about this for a moment. "How do we decide who wins?"

He looked away for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip as he thought. "How about we keep a tally of how many times someone says something like we don't seem like ourselves, or we're acting weird, or asks if we're feeling alright." He could see a faint gleam in her eyes.

""You expect me to believe you'll be honest?"

He laughed. She knew him well. "Just this once," he said, raising his hands before him. "I swear I'll be one hundred percent honest."

"Pinkie swear?"

He held up his right pinkie. "Pinkie swear."

"Deal," she said. And they shook on it.

Ya know, because things just needed to be more interesting than they already were.


End file.
